As Coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement (Movimento Cristiano
Liberación-MCL) in the province of Las Tunas, Luis Enrique Ferrer organized
groups of people who were able to collect hundreds of signatures for the
Varela Project. As a result of the work
that put organizers like Luis Enrique Ferrer and his older brother,
independent journalist José Daniel Ferrer at great personal risk, over
11,020 signatures were collected and presented to the National Assembly in
May 2002. Luis Enrique Ferrer personally presented copies of the signatures
to visiting foreign legislators.

Luis Enrique Ferrer received the longest sentence of all of those arrested
in the recent crackdown. He was sentenced to 28 years' imprisonment and is
currently being held at the prison
Combinado del Este in
Havana. It is unclear why Mr. Ferrer received such a particularly long
sentence. His prison conditions are
harsh. In a dark cell, no larger than 8 by 4 feet, with nowhere to sleep but
a concrete platform, Luis Enrique Ferrer is reported to be suffering from
severe vomiting and diarrhea. Mr. Ferrer is being held in solitary
confinement and is being subjected to additional punishment as a result of
his refusal to wear prison uniform.

Luis Enrique Ferrer, born August 27, 1976, in the province of Santiago de
Cuba, is a man of humble origins. As a fisherman, he had his first
confrontation with the regime when officials confiscated the fish that he
had caught to feed his family. He and his brother, José Daniel Ferrer, age
32, have played an active role in the young, but growing,
human rights and democracy movement
within the island.

The current crackdown is not the first time that the brothers have come into
conflict with the Cuban government. In 1999, Luis Enrique Ferrer was brought
to court for refusing to pay a thirty peso fine that had been imposed on him
for charges of "disrespect" to
government officials. When Luis Enrique told the court that he refused to
pay the fine because he believed that the charges were unfair and that he,
in fact, had suffered the damages, he was given a six month jail sentence,
which was later reduced to six months house arrest.

When Luis Enrique Ferrer left the court room with his family and other
supporters, they were attacked by an awaiting mob. Many dissidents in Cuba
claim that these mobs are orchestrated through the Office of State Security
(OSS) and its Rapid Response Brigades. They claim that such methods are used
to intimidate and harm dissidents, and, at the same time, dissuade them from
speaking out.

Upon leaving the courtroom, Luis Enrique Ferrer was struck heavily in the
abdomen with a hammer by a member of the mob. His mother, aged 56 at the
time of the incident, and his sister, aged 26 at the time, were both
violently thrown to the ground. Luis Enrique Ferrer and his supporters
remained non-violent and did not fight back as they were subjected to the
brutal physical attacks. OSS agents stood by in plainclothes, watching the
assault, only intervening after the Ferrer brothers and their supporters had
suffered injuries.

According to other activists who have worked with Luis Enrique in Cuba,
before being imprisoned, he was a pioneer in organizing seminars and
workshops on human rights and civic education for Santiago de Cuba. José
Daniel Ferrer, apart from collecting signatures for the Varela Project, is
an independent journalist whose work often deals with human rights issues.